Recent content from Eric Roper
Roper: The 'birthplace of Minneapolis' is ready for its next chapter. Let's tell the whole story.
The John H. Stevens House has been repaired after arsons, but needs a new vision to be relevant.
Roper: Plentiful ideas to fix Nicollet Mall show it has a bright future
Readers had no shortage of suggestions for Minneapolis' signature street, including greenery, museums and buskers.
Let's talk about the future of Nicollet Mall. Join our live blog now with columnist Eric Roper
Roper is chatting online with readers today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Roper: Downtown St. Paul still awaits the return of state workers
There were some signs of activity on Monday, but more people are expected later this week.
Roper: To save Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, we need more doors
Minneapolis should get serious about small storefronts as it looks to restore the mall's image as "Minnesota's Main Street."
Roper: Let's celebrate improvements to the local bus
A lot has changed in the last decade, with more promising upgrades to come.
Roper: We have bigger regional priorities than a Mall of America water park
Bloomington's $160 million subsidy is derived from a regional tax sharing pool. So we should all be paying attention.
'This is an uprising': An oral history of the 6 days after George Floyd's murder
Protesters, police, Gov. Tim Walz and neighbors chronicle the upheaval that changed Minneapolis and spread across the world.
Roper: I will be obsessively curious and occasionally crusading about Twin Cities issues
Let's take a page out of local newspaper history to improve civic dialogue.
Half a century late, a tribute to two trailblazing Minneapolis residents
Our new podcast "Ghost of a Chance" is centered on the lives of a couple who made their home a hub for the Black community in 1920s Minneapolis
New podcast follows reporter's search for answers about his Minneapolis home's former owners
Eric Roper traces the lives of a trailblazing Black couple who owned his Minneapolis house in 1917, revealing a history of the city he hadn't heard before.
Ghost of a Chance Episode 2: Nice Little House
Clippings from the Black newspapers back in the 1910s help Eric piece together the lives of Harry and Clementine Robinson as they settle in a place as far north as they could get.
A mystery about my house became a five-year project that delved deep into Minneapolis history
The Minnesota Star Tribune's first narrative podcast, "Ghost of a Chance," explores the Black experience in the city.
Listen: Why did Minnesota erase much of its German culture?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how — despite its "uff da" reputation — the state has more German than Scandinavian ancestry.
Listen: What is the oldest tree in Minnesota?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses a journey to visit an ancient state artifact.
Listen: Emptying state institutions was supposed to help fix mental health care. What happened?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how the system for community mental health care did not get fully built.
Listen: How did gambling develop into a major industry in Minnesota?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how gambling had been largely illegal in the state until half a century ago.
Listen: Searching for Snoopy: What happened to all the 'Peanuts' statues in St. Paul?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how a tribute to the comic strip's creator became a sensation in the capital city.
He fought this newspaper — and won. Dan Cohen, mainstay of Minneapolis politics for decades, dies at 87.
The former City Council president took the Star Tribune to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Listen: What Minnesota inventions have shaped modern life?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how creative Minnesotans devised hundreds of products we take for granted.
Listen: What roles did Minnesota's Native American chiefs play? And who were some notable ones?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how these celebrated figures of the past navigated difficult decisions.
Listen: Why does Maplewood have such an odd shape?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how Maplewood was born out of leftover land — and became home to a signature Minnesota company.
Listen: How did Northfield become home to St. Olaf and Carleton colleges?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the collaborative roots of these two prominent institutions.
Listen: Did union rules prevent Leonard Bernstein from joining the Minnesota Orchestra?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how sometimes rejection is the beginning of an exciting new path in life.
Introducing the Curious Minnesota Collection. Every question we've answered — now in one place
Our new searchable database is home to more than 260 stories about Minnesota history and culture, all inspired by reader questions.
Listen: What does it mean when Minnesota courts sentence offenders to 'the workhouse'?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the background of these unique correctional facilities, which are neither jails nor prisons.
Listen: What is Minnesota's deepest lake?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how humans created many of the state's deepest water bodies.
Listen: How did Minnesota become the nation's top turkey state?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how a turkey turnaround a century ago made Minnesota birds a Thanksgiving staple around the country.
Listen: How much flour would it take to turn Lake Superior into bread?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how a teenager's question sent us down a leavened labyrinth.
How should Curious Minnesota expand in 2024?
Your feedback is important to shaping the future of this project, which will soon celebrate its fifth anniversary.
Listen: Did teenagers 'riot' when the Beatles stayed in downtown Minneapolis in 1965?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the chaotic aftermath of the Fab Four's Bloomington concert.
Listen: Did a Nazi sympathizer once represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how Ernest Lundeen's political career culminated in a fight to stay out of World War II — and came to a tragic conclusion.
Listen: How did Kid Cann become Minneapolis' most infamous gangster?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how Isadore "Kid Cann" Blumenfeld rode Prohibition to wealth and influence in the city.
Listen: Was Moorhead once a drinking destination?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how the Fargo-Moorhead area became a battleground over booze in the late 1800s.
Listen: Why did Spam become an international sensation?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the product's cultural legacy that extends across the globe — and even into our email inboxes.
Listen: Why did Prince decide to live in Chanhassen?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the pop star's decision to settle down in the western Twin Cities suburbs.
Listen: State Fair attendees tell us their questions about Minnesota
The Curious Minnesota podcast solicited questions from fairgoers. Which is your favorite?
Listen: Why is Minnesota such a hotbed of professional wrestling?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how locals helped develop this unique sport.
Listen: Why did Minnesota once require margarine to be dyed pink?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the state's crusade against the 'abomination' of margarine.
Listen: How did Tonka trucks get their start in Minnesota?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the local origins of this well-known children's toy.
Listen: Inside the mines and megamachines of the Iron Range
The Curious Minnesota podcast heads north to the mighty Mesabi, which helped fuel America's success story.
Listen: Why didn't Minneapolis and St. Paul ever merge?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how it was once considered 'manifest destiny' that the two cities would become one.
What happens to the plastic bags we recycle at grocery stores?
Our modern lives are flooded with plastic film, which cannot be put in curbside recycling bins.
Listen: Why does Minnesota have municipal liquor stores?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why Minnesota's alcohol regulations are unlike most other states.
Inside the mines and megamachines of the Iron Range
A family's question about large machines resulted in a Curious Minnesota field trip to the mighty Mesabi, a place that has fueled America's success story.
Listen: Why didn't Minneapolis gobble up its suburbs?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why the Minneapolis area fragmented into a web of smaller cities.
Listen: Did a famed parks leader import gray squirrels to Minneapolis — and have the red ones killed?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses Theodore Wirth's effort to replace one type of squirrel with another in the early 1900s.
Listen: Why was the utopian plan for Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside area never built?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the ambitious vision behind what is now Riverside Plaza.
Listen: What happened to Minneapolis' famous Weatherball?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the landmark that dominated Minneapolis' skyline for part of the 20th century.
Listen: How a Twin Cities ammunition factory dominated by women helped U.S. win WWII
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the unique history of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant.
Why didn't Minneapolis gobble up its suburbs?
Annexation once seemed likely. Instead, the Twin Cities became a region of fragmented local governments.
Listen: Why was the Mall of America built in Minnesota?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the origins of the country's largest indoor shopping center.
What is the largest machine in Minnesota?
Transformers inspired a family to hunt for a mechanical mammoth. Here's what we found.
Listen: Why are there so many stucco homes in the Twin Cities?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why the cement-based siding became especially popular in this region.
Listen: How did Minnesota become a window manufacturing hub?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the history of the state's window giants, Marvin and Andersen Windows & Doors.
Wind gusts are blowing away recent records in Minnesota. But is technology partly to blame?
Weather watchers are observing notable wind trends, though other factors could be boosting the numbers.
How we choose Curious Minnesota questions submitted by readers
Readers sent in nearly 800 questions in 2022. Help us keep the momentum going in the new year.
Listen: Minnesota companies once dominated the supercomputer industry. What happened?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the Minnesota companies that built some of the fastest computers in the world.
Listen: Why did Finnish immigrants come to Minnesota? (And no, they're not Scandinavian)
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why Minnesota has more residents of Finnish ancestry than any other state.
Listen: Did a TV debate decide one of Minnesota's most scandalous elections?
The Curious Minnesota podcast delves into the contentious 1990 gubernatorial campaign.
Third arson fire was most damaging to historic Stevens House in Minneapolis
Known as the "birthplace of Minneapolis," the 172-year-old property is in bad shape following three fires this year.
Listen: Does Minnesota really have the 'World's Oldest Rock'?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the 3.5 billion-year-old history of Minnesota's most ancient artifact.
Listen: Who was Hennepin and why did Minnesota name so many things after him?
The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the 17th century Catholic priest whose name is prevalent in the Twin Cities.
Why did Finnish immigrants come to Minnesota? (And no, they're not Scandinavian)
Minnesota boasts more residents of Finnish ancestry than any other state. The story of how Finns arrived here is distinct from Swedes and Norwegians in several ways.
